Fluid purifying apparatus and method of purifying fluids

ABSTRACT

In a fluid purification arrangement for a reverse osmosis treatment system which system includes a ported header with spaced port connections, a fluid impervious treatment container with at least one compartment and a matching ported header mounted thereto to permit connection of the treatment container to the header of the treatment system.

This is a divisional application of Ser. No. 07/515,459, filed 4/27/90,now pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to fluid purifying apparatus and a methodof purifying fluids and more particularly to a novel, compact structuresuitable for purifying liquids such as water and to a novel method ofaccomplishing such liquid purification.

It presently is known in the art of fluid purification to include in afluid purifying system an arrangement for passing fluid to be purifiedsuch as liquid water from the feed side of a reverse osmosis unit to theproduct side of the reverse osmosis unit and then to an ultimate userduring a purifying cycle and then, during a treatment cycle of thereverse osmosis unit, which treatment cycle includesdisinfection/rejuvenation, to recirculate the liquid from the productside of the reverse osmosis unit back to the feed side in by-passrelation to the reverse osmosis unit in order to introduce suitabletreating fluids through separate jugs or containers to disinfect andrejuvenate the system. Such a so-called "loop system" arrangement can beseen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,771, issued to Ronald L. Wathen, et al. onNov. 15, 1988. It also is known in the fluid purification art toutilize, before and after a fluid filtering means, which includes acarbon filter, an ultra-violet light-emitting tube, attention beingdirected to U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,131, issued to J.R. Noll on Sept. 6,1988. Further, it is known in the fluid purification art to utilize athermoelectric heat transfer module in such a manner that the cool sidethereof is in thermal communication with a purified fluid, such as watercontained in a storage chamber, a tap water and waste water supply beingutilized to carry heat energy away from the hot side of the heattransfer module. Attention, in this regard, is being directed to U.S.Pat. No. 4,752,389, issued to Bruce D. Burrows on July 21, 1988.Finally, it is generally known to utilize an expandable fluid chamberwithin a confined zone with sensing and actuating means to control fluidflow to the chamber when the chamber reaches an expanded level,attention being directed to U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,513, issued to C.H.Kirk, Jr. on May 14, 1936 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,194, issued to M.E.Engingh on August 5, 1986.

Recognizing the limitations of these several aforenoted structures andfurther recognizing the need for a highly efficient, compact fluidpurification apparatus particularly adapted for water purification, thepresent invention provides a fluid purification apparatus and method ofpurifying a fluid, such as water, which allows for ready, efficient, andeconomical manufacture, assembly, shipping, storage, maintenance anduse. More specifically, the present invention provides for an improvedflow-through housing arrangement for a water purification system whichallows for ready, uniform ambient air flushing and cooling of severalselect parts of the system with a unique arrangement for diverting andexhausting outlet air from the system with a minimum of noise and airintrusion, utilizing the housing and liquid drain receptacle toaccomplish the same and at the same time allowing ready removal of thedrain receptacle. Further, the present invention provides for animproved, economical flow control in a reverse osmosis treatment loopand for a unique, unitary disinfection and rejuvenation container insuch reverse osmosis treatment loop of a water purification system, thecontainer being of unitary stable and balanced construction and yetallowing for ready alternative selection and introduction ofdisinfection and rejuvenation fluids into the treatment loop. Inaddition the present invention provides for a unique arrangement fortreating fluids in a fluid purification system with ultra-violetradiation before the system pump, after the reverse osmosis purificationand after storage but before tap usage in the system. Also, the presentinvention provides a novel fluid storage and bag assembly arrangement,including a unique arrangement for controlling, heating and coolingfluid in the storage arrangement and a unique modification for heatingfluid in a storage chamber to purify the same for distillationintroduction into a cold storage chamber, the cold and heated chambersutilizing the cool and hot sides of a thermoelectric module respectivelyin the treatment of the liquid, with the purifying effects ofdistillation in the modification serving in place of and/or inconjunction with a novel step of ultra-violet radiation treatment beforepassage to tap use. Moreover, the present invention provides a novelcompact and efficient structural arrangement for mounting a hingedhousing cover which nestingly receives the liquid tap and a novelarrangement for mounting the pump and filters included in the liquidfiltration system so as to provide a compact, balanced unit assemblywhich isolates residual vibrations of the pump in the housing in whichthe assembly is disposed. In addition, the present invention providesnovel, straightforward and economical to manufacture fluid flow controlapparatus, eliminating costly check and solenoid valves otherwiserequired.

Various other features of the present invention will become obvious toone skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forth herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

More particularly, the present invention provides a liquid purificationapparatus comprising: walled housing means having an ambient inletopening therein, the housing means defining a plenum chamberpreselectively sized to compactly contain a liquid purification systemtherein to communicatively extend between a liquid inlet and a liquidoutlet in the wall housing means, the liquid purification systemincluding a pump to move the liquid from the liquid inlet to the liquidoutlet, a liquid storage receptacle having a heat transfer means with aheat exchange element associated therewith and a blower mounted in thechamber in communication with the ambient inlet opening in the walledhousing means to circulate air over the heat exchange element; a walleddrain receptacle communicatively positioned below the plenum chamberwith the side walls thereof in spaced relation to the walled housingmeans to define an air exhaust passage therebetween, the drainreceptacle serving to receive and evaporate condensed liquids from theliquid purification system in the plenum chamber thereabove with the airexhaust passage being sized and positioned adjacent to the bottomperiphery of the walled housing means to serve as a dispersing and soundbaffling exhaust for air circulated by the blower over the heat exchangeelement and through the remainder of the liquid purification system. Inaddition, the present invention provides for a liquid purificationsystem which includes a filter membrane, a storage receptacle and tapdownstream the storage receptacle with ultra-violet treating apparatusbefore the filter, between the filter and storage receptacle and betweenthe storage receptacle and the tap. Further, the present inventionprovides not only a novel, insulated sandwiched plate storage receptaclebut also a thin collapsible-expansible gas and liquid storage bagassembly arrangement in the receptacle with a unique planar switchapparatus to control liquid flow to the bag, the storage bag arrangementincluding at least two fluid connected bags, one for storing hot fluidsand the other cold fluids. In the present invention, the two assembledhot and cold bags are uniquely arranged to allow further purification ofthe liquid therein, either through the aforedescribed ultra-violetradiation apparatus or through a novel distillation of the liquid as itpasses from the hot to the cold chamber. Moreover, the present inventionutilizes a unique reverse osmosis loop system in the course of liquidpurification, the loop system including a novel arrangement forcontrolling liquid flow in the primary and drain circuits, as well as anovel unitary container for alternatively introducingdisinfection/rejuvenation treatment fluids into the system. The presentinvention also provides a unique and novel method and a modificationthereof for liquid purification the combined steps of which can be inassociation with the novel apparatus described herein. Further, thepresent invention provides a novel arrangement which reduces pumpvibration by uniquely isolating the pump from the housing in which it isdisposed. In addition, the present invention provides unique fluidcontrol mechanism for the purification system, including novel flowcheck and alternative flow control arrangements.

It is to be understood that various changes can be made by one skilledin the art in one or more of the several parts of the novel apparatusdescribed herein and in one or more of the several steps of the uniquemethod herein described without departing from the scope or spirit ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the several figures of the drawings which illustrate bothschematically and in detail, an advantageous embodiment of the presentinvention and novel modifications thereof:

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram of conduit circuitry between theseveral parts of one advantageous embodiment of the inventive liquidpurifying apparatus disclosing the several parts incorporated into thepurifying apparatus and the novel features included therein;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 1, disclosing further details ofthe novel storage receptacle and conduit circuitry included in the flowdiagram of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow diagram of the conduit circuitry between theseveral parts of a modified embodiment of the inventive liquid purifyingapparatus also disclosing the several parts incorporated into a modifiedpurifying apparatus which includes a modified ultra-violet radiationarrangement;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 3, disclosing further details ofthe novel storage receptacle and conduit circuitry included in the flowdiagram of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic front end, partially broken away view of the novelhousing arrangement of the present invention showing the unique spacingbetween housing and drain receptacle side walls with thedisinfection/rejuvenation container removed in order to show a portionof the novel frame assembly for supporting the filters and pump as aunit in the lower portion of the housing, the novel storage receptaclein the upper portion of the housing with the thermal heat transfer andheat exchanger arrangement suspended therefrom and the spaced reverseosmosis container and power supply unit disposed on either side of theheat exchanger;

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the novel housing arrangement of FIG.5 disclosing the front and rear end cover and disinfection/rejuvenationunit ordinarily only present during a treatment cycle, which parts werenot included in FIG. 5 for the purposes of illustration and furtherdisclosing the blower and ambient inlet associated therewith which isutilized to move an air stream over the heat exchanger and other partsof the housing to be exhausted downwardly through the passage betweenthe spaced housing and drain receptacle;

FIG. 7 is a partially broken away top view of the housing assembly ofFIGS. 5 and 6 with a portion of the storage receptacle removed in orderto disclose the novel plate arrangement included therewith;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the drain receptacle disclosed in FIGS. 5-7;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the drain receptacle of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the drain receptacle of FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged partially broken away end view of the noveldisinfection/rejuvenation container disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 3 of thedrawings;

FIG. 12 is an exploded side view of the container of FIG. 11, furtherillustrating the header and header connections associated therewith;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the container of

FIGS. 11 and 12 taken in a plane through line 13--13 of FIG. 12;

FIGS. 14 through 16 are three separate cross-sectional views taken inspaced planes through lines 14--14, 15--15 and 16--16 respectively ofthe container of FIG. 11 to illustrate stages of the longitudinallytapering configuration of the disinfection/rejuvenation container andthe changing form of the wave-like divider providing two mirror-imagecompartments within the container;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of the novel frame arrangement for mountingthe reverse osmosis unit and spaced power pack unit in a stacked uppertier of a frame and the two filter containers and pump therebetween inthe lower tier of the frame of FIGS. 5-7 of the drawings, all as anisolated unit within the housing to balance and absorb pump vibrations;

FIG. 18 is a side view of the isolating frame unit of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a partially broken away exploded view taken from a reverseside of the novel storage receptacle of FIGS. 1, 3, 5 and 6 of thedrawings, disclosing schematically the novel planar switch assembly tocontrol storage chamber volume;

FIG. 20 is a plan view of the novel plate member incorporated as part ofthe storage receptacle disclosing how this plate member becomes part ofa novel molding process;

FIG. 21 is a schematic plan view of a modified embodiment of the storagereceptacle incorporating a novel unitary bag member assembly, contouredto provide separate communicating cold and hot bag members for theseparate compartments of the storage receptacle;

FIG. 22 is a schematic side view of the storage receptacle and sectionedunitary bag member of FIG. 21 further disclosing the thermal electricelement and associated heat exchanger fins suspended from the storagereceptacle plate;

FIGS. 23 and 24 are enlarged front views illustrating two stages of anovel float valve arrangement which can be utilized in conduit circuitrysuch as schematically disclosed in FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 25 is an enlarged side view of the float valve stage illustrated inFIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a reduced isometric view of the overall housing of FIGS. 5, 6and 7;

FIG. 27 is an enlarged partially broken away, schematic and isometric,side view of an upper corner of the novel housing arrangement taken in aplane through line 27--27 of FIG. 26 disclosing a portion of the topcover in open position with a top edge hinge arrangement therefor andfurther disclosing a portion of the recess in the cover for nestinglyaccommodating a user tap;

FIG. 28 is an exploded schematic view of a mold method employed informing the storage receptacle of FIG. 19 including the novel platemember of FIG. 20; and,

FIGS. 29-32 schematically disclose plan and partial side views of twostages of a novel fluid flow control arrangement for the two conduitsconnecting hot and cold storage bag members to the user tap, FIGS. 29and 30 illustrating the cold fluid flow conduit in open position and thehot fluid flow conduit in closed position and FIGS. 31 and 32illustrating the reverse condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Referring to the schematic flow diagram of FIG. 1, liquid to bepurified, usually contaminant and bacterial-laden water, from anavailable supply source (not shown) is introduced into the novel liquidpurification system broadly referred to herein by reference number 2 atsystem inlet 3 of a suitable chemically-resistant plastic tubing, suchas a polyethylene tubing. The liquid to be purified passes along thetubing through an opened solenoid valve 4 through ball control shut-offvalve 5 which is maintained in open position during normal liquidpurification and treatment cycles into the tapered cylindrical prefilterhousing 6 which can be of a suitable chemically-resistant plasticmaterial and which contains a suitable particulate-removingmaterial--such as a spun polypropylene of a preselected porosity anddepth. From prefilter housing 6, the liquid passes into a second taperedcylindrical housing 7 which also is of a suitable chemically-resistantplastic material and which contains a suitable porous bacteriostaticmetal alloy material of preselected porosity and depth and which iscapable of releasing copper ions into the liquid stream to arrestbacterial growth. It is to be understood that a commercially-availablematerial, such as one referred to as "KDF," available from the ChemtreeCompany, can be used along with a suitable and commercially-availablegranulatar-activated carbon. It further is to be understood that thedepth and porosity of the material selected can vary depending upon thenature of the liquid to be treated including such parameters as PHlevel, hardness and turbidity From ion-adding filter 7, the liquidpasses through ball control valve 8 which is maintained in openedposition during a normal liquid purification cycle and which is heldclosed during a disinfection/rejuvenation treatment cycle of the reverseosmosis unit, described hereinafter. In a typical operation, liquid tobe purified is introduced into inlet 3 at a volume flow rate ofapproximately nine hundred (900) to one thousand (1,000) cubiccentimeters per minute. During the disinfection/rejuvenation treatmentcycle, which is broadly similar to the inventive "loop cycle" asdescribed in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,771, ball control valve8 is closed and a small amount of feed liquid in the approximate volumeflow rate range of seventy-five (75) cubic centimeters per minute ispassed through a restrictor orifice 9 which can be made from any one ofa number of suitably-porous materials, such as thecommercially-available "POREX" material. It is to be noted that asuitable ball-controlled drain valve 10 can be provided before valve 8to relieve static pressure when desired.

During normal flow operation, the liquid to be treated is passed throughhelically-wound section 11 surrounding a portion of an ultra-violetradiation tube 12 which advantageously can have a wave length of twohundred and fifty-four (254) nanometers and be non-ozone producing. Theliquid then passes through a pump 13 to the feed side of a reverseosmosis unit 14. Pump 13 advantageously can be a commercially-availabletriple diaphragm, positive displacement pump which serves to minimizepump shear and in turn, temperature increase of the treated liquidduring the treatment cycle and to maximize flow rate through the reverseosmosis membrane. From the feed side of the reverse osmosis unit 14,treated liquid passes through a flow meter 16 and a second conductivityprobe 17 for measuring water quality--the first conductivity probe 17being upstream in "loop cycle" 15--to a second helically-wound section18 also surrounding a portion of ultra-violet radiation tube 12. After asecond ultra-violet radiation treatment, the liquid is passed to aunique compartmentalized storage receptacle 19 described in detailhereinafter--which receptacle is capable of heating and/or cooling theliquid to be passed on through a three-way solenoid control 21 to a usertap 22. As is described hereinafter, a novel manually operable fluidflow control mechanism can be utilized, in accordance with the presentinvention for valve 21.

As above noted, the reverse osmosis unit 14 can be intermittentlytreated in "loop cycle" 15 in a manner similar to that described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,784,771 and therefore not described in detail herein.However, in accordance with the present invention, additional novelfeatures are now included in the "loop cycle" which allows for astraightforward and economical manner of controlling the rate at whichthe reverse osmosis unit 14 compacts. This is accomplished through twonovel restrictor orifices 23 and 24 respectively which, like restrictororifice 9, can be economically manufactured from any one of a number ofsuitable porous materials, such as a material sold by the Porex Company,and which is of preselected porosity to allow a preselected variableresistance to liquid flow between restrictive orifices 23 and 24.Advantageously, restrictor orifice 23, which is downstream the firstconductivity probe 17 in the main line of the loop cycle can be selectedto allow a flow volume rate of approximately three (3) liters or threethousand (3,000) cubic centimeters per minute and restrictor orifice 24in the drain line can be selected to allow a smaller flow volume rate ofeight hundred and fifty (850) cubic centimeters per minute with a higherratio between orifices 23 and 24 generally allowing for a more efficientrecovery of product water but of lower quality. In addition to the novelrestrictor orifice arrangement 23 and 24, the new "loop cycle" alsoincludes a suitable pressure relief valve 25 in the drain line to sealagainst drain flow during the treatment cycle and a unique and noveltreatment container arrangement 26 which provides a unitary containerfor alternative introduction of disinfection/rejuvenation fluids fromone of two compartments in the same container--all in a manner describedin detail hereinafter. Also described in detail hereinafter is the flowof fluid through the separate compartments of the compartmentalizedstorage receptacle 19 (FIGS. 1 and 2).

Referring to FIG. 3 of the drawings, a modified flow diagram 20 fromthat of FIG. 1 is shown. In this embodiment of the invention, thehousing for the ion filter 7 is positioned downstream pump 13 before thereverse osmosis unit and a third helically-wound section 27 is utilizedto surround ultra-violet radiation tube 12. This third ultra-violetradiation section 27 is utilized to apply a third ultra-violet treatmentto the fluid after it leaves storage receptacle 19, returns to athermoelectric element associated with receptacle 19 and passes to usertap 22. The flow of fluid through the separate compartments of thecompartmentalized storage receptacle 19 for the embodiment of FIGS. 3and 4 is also described hereinafter. Other than for the principalchanges of position of the ion filter 7, the relocation of aconductivity meter, the elimination of a few minor valves, and theadditional ultra-violet treatment section 27 surrounding tube 12, thenovel parts involved in the flow diagram 20 of FIG. 3 can besubstantially like those in the flow diagram 2 of FIG. 1 and accordinglybear like reference numerals.

Referring to FIGS. 5 through 10 of the drawings, the inventive housingarrangement for the compact liquid purification system is disclosed asincluding a walled housing 28, which in the embodiment disclosedadvantageously is of rectangular configuration but which can vary inshape in accordance with specific needs. Housing 28 serves to provide amain plenum 29 and is preselectively sized to contain liquidpurification system 2 therein communicatively extending between inlet 3which is connected to a water source, to the outlet, which is connectedto user tap 22. The housing 28 can be formed from any suitably insulatedmetallic or plastic material and advantageously is formed from a thinbut sturdy, light-weight aluminum. Positioned below plenum 29 to receiveliquid condensates from the liquid purification system 2, which isdisposed within plenum 29, is drain receptacle 31. Drain receptacle 31,which serves to allow evaporation of liquids received thereby, includesvertically extending side wall member 32 which extend normally from thelower peripheral edge thereof. As can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 of thedrawings, the bottom peripheral edge portion of walled housing 28 can beinwardly curved to overlap in spaced relation with the outwardly curvedupper edge portion of peripheral side walls 32 of drain receptacle 31.It is to be understood that any one of a number of spacer elements canbe utilized to provide the spacing between the inwardly curved lowerperipheral edge portions of housing 28 and the outwardly curved upperperipheral edge portions of drain receptacle side walls 32 so as toprovide an elongated, air flow dispersing sound baffling passagetherebetween. Advantageously, and as can be seen in FIGS. 8-10, thespacer elements can be an integral part of the peripheral side walls 32of drain receptacle 31 in the form of selectively spaced outwardlyextending protuberances 33 abutting and fastened by a suitable fasteningdevice to the otherwise spaced inner face of the curved lower peripheraledge portion of wall housing 28. It, of course, is to be understood thatthese protrusions 33 could also be formed on the inner face of theinwardly curved edge of walled housing 28 to abut the outer face ofperipheral side wall 32.

Again referring to FIGS. 5-7 of the drawings, it can be seen that theupper portion of plenum 29 serves to slidably receive the side edges ofa hereinafter described plate member 34 of liquid storage receptacle 19which form a part of liquid purification system 2. Suitably opposed,mirror-image, longitudinally extending slotted track members 36 ofU-shaped cross-section have longitudinally extending bases appropriatelymounted in fastened relation to the opposed inner faces of walledhousing 28 to receive and support the opposed edges of plate member 34between the spaced longitudinally extending side portions, as can beparticularly seen in FIG. 5 of the drawings. As also can be seen in FIG.5, plate member 34 serves to support from the lower face thereofintermediate opposed track members 36, a thermoelectric module 37 whichincludes a cold side 38 and a hot side 39. The hot side 39, in turn, hasthe heat exchanger or heat sink element 41 suspended therefrom in theform of spaced thermally conductive fin-like plate members. As can beparticularly seen in FIG. 7 of the drawings, plate member 34 can beprovided with a slotted gripping handle 42 on the front edge thereof toallow manual slidable movement of the entire storage receptacle assembly19 on the opposed tracks 36.

Again referring to FIG. 5 of the drawings and also to FIG. 6 of thedrawings, as well as to later FIGS. 17 and 18, it can be seen that theprefilter housing unit 6, diaphragm pump 13 and ion adding filter unit 7are mounted in spaced longitudinally extending position to extend inspaced relation from the front wall of housing 28 toward the rear wallthereof by means of a unitary support from 43. Referring particularly toFIGS. 5 and 6, it can be seen that frame member 43, which can be formedfrom a unitary piece of sturdy sheet metal, such as aluminum orstainless steel, is appropriately sized to extend longitudinally betweenand spaced from the side walls of housing 28. The longitudinalcross-section of frame member 43 is of inverted U-shape to provide abase panel 44 and two spaced side panels 46 and 47. When properlyinserted in the lower portion of plenum 29, base panel 44 extends in ahorizontal plane and the spaced front and rear side panels or legs 46and 47 respectively extend downwardly with the corner extremity of eachside panel having a footing 48 which rests on the upper face of drainreceptacle 31. It is to be noted that the lower face portion of drainreceptacle 31 also is provided with similar footings 49 at the cornersthereof so that the entire housing 28, including drain receptacle 31 andindependently resting frame member 43 disposed thereon can rest on aflat support surface, such as a table top. The parallel front and rearside panels 46 and 47 respectively are provided with spaced, alignedapertures which are appropriately sized to receive therethrough in snugnestingly wedge-like engagement therewith in a lower tier the inwardlytapered filter housings 6 and 7. As can be seen clearly in FIGS. 5, 17and 18, the front ends of spaced parallel, tapered filter housings 6 and7 are connected by a slotted connecting panel member 51 to allow readyremoval of both tapered housings 6 and 7 from frame member 43. It is tobe noted that suitable gaskets 52 which can be of plastic, are providedaround the peripheries of the aligned apertures to insure firm wedgingof the tapered filter housings 6 and 7 therein. As can be seen in FIGS.5 and 18 of the drawings, suspended in the lower tier from the undersideof horizontal base panel in spaced relation between frame supportedfilter housings 6 and 7 is diaphragm pump 13 and mounted in a upper tieron the upper face of horizontal base panel 44 in spaced relation fromeither side of the heat exchange fins 41 is the reverse osmosis unit 14and a power pack 53. This power pack 53 which includes an appropriatetransformer and voltage regulator serves to provide a selected level ofelectrical energy (12 volts) to several parts of liquid purificationsystem 2 requiring such energy and which are disposed in plenum 29,including but not limited to the thermoelectric module 37 and blower 56(FIG. 6) which moves ambient air from inlet 20 in walled housing 28 overheat exchange fins 41 to which the blower is attached and downwardlythrough the aforedescribed outlet passage defined between the spacedwalls of walled housing 28 and drain pan 31. The ultra-violet radiationtube 12, the pump 13 and the heater plate 54 in storage receptacle 19(as described hereinafter) can be supplied with electrical energy from adirect separate appropriate energy source, such as a 220 volt source.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 27 of the drawings which discloses a portion ofthe front cover for walled housing 28, it can be seen that ultra-violettube 12 can be vertically positioned on the inside face of the frontcover adjacent the novel treatment container arrangement 26, tube 12further serving to light the front panel, a portion of which can be inthe form of a transparent polycarbonate window to block ultra-violetradiation from tube 12. In this regard, it is to be noted that tube 12and the conduit sections therearound can, in turn, be surrounded with aradiation absorption and reflective shield (not shown) which,advantageously, can be in the form of a suitable number of layers ofaluminized coated sheets of Mylar material which serve to absorb theemitted radiation from tube 12 and to reflect a portion thereof back tothe surrounding coil sections. It is to be understood that, for thepurposes of clarity of understanding, details of the electrical andfluid circuitry are not disclosed in FIGS. 5-28 of the drawings since itis considered that the schematic flow diagrams of FIGS. 1-4 suffice forthis purpose.

Referring to FIGS. 12-16 of the drawings, details of the noveldisinfection/rejuvenation treatment container 26 which can be utilizedin the reverse osmosis "loop circuit" 15 (FIGS. 1 and 3) are disclosed.This treatment container 26 can be unitary in form and is fluidimpervious to provide two fluid impervious compartments 57 and 58 forintroduction of disinfection and rejuvenation fluids respectively fortreatment of the reverse osmosis unit 14. In the instance of waterpurification, appropriately selected acid and base fluids arerespectively provided, one of the two fluids being stored in eachcompartment. A compartment header block 59 is mounted in sealed relationat corresponding fluid communication ends for each of the compartments57 and 58, this unitary header block 59 serving to provide a headerpair, one for each compartment 57 and 58. Although it would be possibleto use separate headers, in the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 12 of thedrawings, the header for each compartment, or in other words the headerpair, is formed from the single unitary header block 59. Eachcompartment header of the header pair in unitary header block 59 isprovided with a spaced set of three mating port connections 61, 62, 63which are embedded in unitary header block 59 in mirror-image relation,as can be seen in FIG. 12. Although not shown in detail, the upper endof each port connection of each set can, when treatment container 26 isproperly positioned, communicate with the respective compartments 57, 58thereabove. The lower end of each port connection is of a female natureand when a respective compartment 57, 58 is in operating position,receive a male nipple of connections 64, 66, 67 embeddedly mounted inthe treatment header block 68. In effect, the lower female ends ofconnections 61, 62 and 63 of a connection et for a compartment connectrespectively with the nipples of connections 64, 66, 67 in a connectingarrangement of 61-64, 62-66 and 63-67. The connected arrangements 61-64,62-66 and 63-67 can serve as treatment fluid outlet, treatment fluidinlet and air inlet/outlet for each compartment 57 and 58 when theparticular connection set for one of the two compartments 57 and 58 isplaced in connected or engaged operation position with the respectivemale nipples 64, 66, 67 of treatment header block 68 of the fluid system2. Although not shown in detail, as can be seen in FIG. 6 of thedrawings, treatment header block 68 to which compartment header block 59is connected, can be positioned in drain receptacle 31. In this regard,it is to be noted that a tie-down connection in the form of a nipple 69is provided in treatment header block 68. This tie-down connection 69serves to engage with the female portion of connection 61 of that set ofmirror-image connections 61, 62, 63 of a compartment 57 or 58 which isnot in operating position. A suitable spring loaded latch 71, such as aquick disconnect latch sold by Colder Products of Minneapolis,Minnesota, cooperatively associated with tie-down nipple or connection69, serves to yieldingly hold the tie-down connection 69 in engagementwith the female portion of connection 61 of that mirror-image set ofconnections not in operating position. Thus, from the above description,it can be seen that by merely rotating compartment header block 59through one hundred eighty degrees (180°), one of the twodisinfection/rejuvenation compartments 57 and 58 can be connected to thetreatment header block 68 which comprises part of liquid purificationsystem 2, with the other compartment not operatively connected beingappropriately anchored on nipple 69 by spring loaded latch 71. Toreadily release quick disconnect latch 71 an appropriate manual accessrecess 72 can be provided adjacent female connection 61 on either sideof compartment header block 59.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention the fluidimpervious disinfection/rejuvenation compartments 57 and 58 can beformed from three vacuum molded thin, light rigid panels formed from asuitable fluid impervious material, such as an appropriate polycarbonatecompound, which material also can be used to form the compartment headermanifold 59 and the treatment header block 68 above described. Two ofthe three panels forming fluid impervious compartments 57 and 58, namelyoutside panels 73 and 74 are identically sized and flanged along threeedges--namely, the two opposed side edges and the base edge from whichthe side edges extend. These three flange edges of the two outsidepanels 73 and 74 are positioned in mirror-image facing relation toinitially provide a chamber of longitudinally extending rectangularconfiguration form to include an open mouth header inlet end adjacentand fastened to the header block 59, which provides, as a unit, theaforedescribed compartment headers for each compartment 57 and 58.Opposed to the open-mouth header end, the bases of the flanged opposedpanels provide the closed end of the compartments 57 and 58. A thirdpanel 76 interposed between mirror-image edge flanged panels 73 and 74serves as a divider wall therebetween to provide fluid imperviouscompartments 57 and 58. Panel 76 can be in the form of alongitudinally-extending wave-shaped sheet to extend longitudinallybetween the mirror-image positioned first and second outside panels 73and 74 from the open-mouth header inlet end to the opposed closed endand from diametrically-opposed corners of the longitudinally-extendingchamber of rectangular configuration formed by outside panels 73 and 74with the longitudinally-extending opposed side and base edges of allthree panels--namely outside panels 73 and 74 and divider panel 76having a common seam 75 which extends along the opposed side and baseedges thereof to provide the pair of compartments 57 and 58 inmirror-image nesting relation. These compartments 57 and 58 aregeometrically of triangular-like cross-sectional configuration to extendfrom the header ends to the closed end. Since the panels and header canbe formed from a similar molded plastic material the common seam alongthe opposed side and base edges of the panels can be formed by fusing,as can the seam between the open-mouth compartments and the header block59. In this regard, it is to be noted that header block 59 is providedwith a suitably recessed surrounding peripheral edge 77 and a wave-likerecess 78 extending centrally between the opposed sides of theperipheral recessed edge 77 to overlappingly receive and respectivelynest with the joined header edges of the three panels 73, 74 and 76. Itfurther is to be noted that connected to each inlet connection 62 anddisposed within compartments 57 and 58 are pressure sensing valves 79and 81 which are utilized within each compartment to regulate flowduring the treatment cycle, to determine compartment fill and, in anemergency, to shut off fluid flow to the compartment at a preselectedvolume level.

It is to be understood that the aforedescribed novel arrangement can beemployed to provide disinfection/rejuvenation units of differentgeometric configurations and possibly even of a different number ofcompartments, utilizing the unique method of assembly of opposedmirror-image panels with intermediate divider panels, the opposed sideand base edges being joined by a common seam to minimize fusing problemswhich would otherwise arise.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 4 and FIGS. 19-25 of the drawings, details of thefluid storage receptacle 19 and associated accessories utilizedtherewith can be seen. In describing the fluid flow through the separatebays 82 and 87 in compartments 83 and 88 respectively of the storagereceptacle 19 of the invention as is set forth in FIGS. 2 and 4 of thedrawings, purified fluid passing from the helically-wound section 18surrounding ultra-violet radiation tube 12 enters into the separateexpansible cold fluid storage bag member 82 occupying the cold storagecompartment 83 of storage receptacle 19. When the cold storage bagmember 82 reaches a predetermined level, it actuates a novel,magnetically-controlled switch, described hereinafter, to cause fluidflow to the cold bag member 82 to cease. When cold fluid is removed fromthe cold storage bag member 82 to flow through control valve 21 to usertap 22 after a certain lag period or hysteresis lag in the magnetizationof the switch, flow to the cold bag member 82 again commences. Ifcontrol valve 21 is closed to user tap 22, the level in cold bag member82 rises. When the head pressure reaches a preselected point in cold bagmember 82, a novel by-pass check valve 86, also described hereinafter,opens to allow some of the fluid directed to cold bag member 82 to passthrough the hot side 39 of the thermoelectric module 37 for heatingprior to entry into hot storage bag member 87 located in hot storagecompartment 88 of storage receptacle 19. It is to be noted, in thisregard, that the cold side 38 of thermoelectric module 37 is positionedadjacent cold storage compartment 83 so as to cool the fluid introducedinto cold storage bag member 82. Advantageously cold storage bag member82 and hot storage bag member 87 can be formed from sheets of a thin,thermally-conductive material, such as Mylar. In storage receptacle 19,the hot storage compartment 88 is provided in the floor thereof with asuitable foil strip heater 89 such as one sold by Minco of Minneapolis,Minn. Advantageously, this foil strip heater 89 can be wrapped orotherwise protected with an insulating material such as a closed cellsilicone foam which insulator serves to modulate the temperature to fallwithin a range of approximately 250° F. to 300° F. A suitable overtemperature regulator (not shown) can be provided to interrupt a 220volt energy supply to the foil heater from the same supply sourcesupplying energy to ultra-violet radiation tube 12. A portion of theheated fluid in hot storage bag member 87 is caused to vaporize by thetemperatures imparted thereto, thus reducing bacterial contaminants withthe thus vaporized and bacterial treated vapors flowing over from hotstorage bag 87 to cold storage bag 82. These vapors condense in coldstorage bag 82 with the fluid level rising in the bag and theaforedescribed cycle of fluid flow is repeated. If it is desired toobtain hot fluid at user tap 22, it is only necessary to adjust threeport or three-way valve accordingly, shutting off cold fluid flow fromcold storage bag 82 thereto and turning on hot fluid flow from hotstorage bag 87.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, the path of fluid flow is, in manyrespects, similar to that aforedescribed. However, in these drawings,the cold fluid from cold storage bag 82 is passed to helical coilsection 27, also surrounding ultra-violet radiation tube 12 for a thirdultra-violet radiation treatment. From there, the fluid passes throughthe cold side 38 of thermoelectric module 37 and then to user tap 22through flow control 21. As in FIGS. 1 and 2, appropriate controlvalving such as at 21 can be employed to allow alternative hot and coldfluid flow to user tap 22 and, if desired and as shown, appropriateheating foil and vaporization circuitry between bags 82 and 87 can beutilized.

Referring to FIG. 19 and 20 of the drawings, the novel switch member 91and aforementioned plate member 34 with slotted gripping handle 42 forstorage receptacle 19 are disclosed in more detail. Switch member 91 isdisclosed as associated with the cover 92 for storage receptacle 19.Cover 92, like storage receptacle 19 of which it is a part andaccordingly-sized and shaped to engage the lower portion thereof, can beformed from a suitable, insulated foam polyurethane material in a mannercomparable to the novel method disclosed in FIG. 28 and describedhereinafter. Cover member 92 is formed with a lower recess 93 in whichthree magnetically-actuable contact switches 94 are embedded in a commonhorizontal plane at approximately 120° to each other in a common circle,these switches being included in parallel in an appropriate electricalcircuit (not shown) which controls fluid flow to bag members 82 and 87.A Mylar sheet 96 is fastened to the lower face of cover 92, this sheetbeing sized to cover recess 93. Supported within recess 93 by sheet 96is a second sheet 97, which sheet determines a common plane and on whichare mounted three magnets 98 which like switches 94 are arranged to fallwithin a common circle, one hundred and twenty degrees (120°) apart todetermine a common plane and to be aligned with contact switches 94.Advantageously, sheet 97 can be of a rigid, polycarbonate material orany other suitable material having low magnetic and thermalconductivity. Accordingly, when any part of storage bag 82 incompartment 83 of storage receptacle 19 reaches a certain preselectedlevel it moves one of magnets 98 supported on sheet 97 toward an alignedcontact switch 94 and causes fluid flow to cold and hot storage bags 82and 87 to be interrupted. It is to be noted that suitable vent lines 90are provided in cover 92 to allow ambient communication withcompartments 83 and 88 and recess 93.

Referring to FIG. 20 of the drawings, details of the novel plate member34 which is embedded in the lower portion of storage receptacle 19 aredisclosed. Plate member 34, which advantageously can be formed from athin, stiff metallic sheet desirably of preselected thermalconductivity, such as aluminum, extends in a flat plane through thelower portion of polyurethane storage receptacle 19 Plate 34 is providedwith selectively-sized and positioned passages therein in the form ofspaced lineal aligned flow-through circular holes 99 and spacedlineal-aligned slots 101 which are arranged geometrically to define tworectangular forms which serve to provide the geometric wall limitationsfor cold and hot storage compartments 83 and 88 above discussed, all inaccordance with a novel forming method described hereinafter. Inaddition, these spaced circular and lineal passages 99 and 101 serve tofurther define tortuous pathways therebetween to reduce thermalconductivity through the plate from one formed compartment 83 to theother formed compartment 88 with the spacing between holes 99 and slots101 also allowing for a certain amount of flexibility relative therespective cold and hot storage receptacle walls formed on one face ofthe plate and between the walls and the bottom of the receptacle formedon the other face of the plate in a manner described hereinafter.

Referring to FIGS. 21 and 22 of the drawings, a novel modifiedarrangement for cold storage bag member 82 disposed in cold storagecompartment 83 and hot storage bag member 87 disposed in hot storagecompartment 88 of storage receptacle 19 is disclosed. In this novelembodiment of the invention, bag members 82 and 87 are shown as part ofthe same unit bag assembly 105 formed and geometrically-contoured andsized from two appropriately-sized and shaped sheets or plackets 102 and103 of thin flexible material, such as Mylar, which are cut andfuse-joined in facing mirror-image form along a common seam 104 toprovide pockets forming bag members 82 and 87 which are communicativelyjoined along a cut and shaped common passage 106 extending between thepockets forming bag members 82 and 87.

Referring to FIGS. 23-26 of the drawings, details are disclosed of anovel by-pass check valve 86 which can be associated with fluid storagereceptacle 19 when employed in a liquid purification system such as isset forth in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. This novel check valve 86 isextremely straightforward and economical in construction, assembly andmaintenance yet efficiently accomplishes the purposes for which it isintended. For operational purposes, and referring to FIG. 2 of thedrawings, it simply comprises a break and spacing in thevertically-extending portion of silicone by-pass conduit line associatedwith storage receptacle 19 which line extends between cold storage bag82 and the hot storage bag 87 passing through the hot side 39 ofthermoelectric module 37, as previously described. This break andspacing of the by-pass line is illustrated in FIGS. 23-25 and forpurposes of description is referred to as spaced and aligned lines 107and 108. The ends of lines 107 and 108 are surrounded by a tubing sleeve109 of appropriate length with an inner diameter which approximates theouter diameter of the by-pass lines 107 and 108. The tubing sleeve 109,which advantageously can also be of silicone material, can be held infast position by a suitable ambient hardening silicone adhesive paste todefine a float chamber 111 between the broken and spacedvertically-extending by-pass line. Positioned within chamber 111 is afloat member 112, which, as shown, can be in the form of a ball. Float112 is of a preselected specific gravity slightly lower than thespecific gravity of the liquid to be stored in storage receptacle 19.For example, float 112 can have a specific gravity of 0.91 when theliquid to be stored is water. Float 112 is appropriately-sized to floatand cover the inner diameter of line 107 of the vertically-extendingby-pass line when the differential pressure between bag members 82 and87 is at a preselected lower level (FIGS. 24). When the differentialpressure between bag members 82 and 87 increases, it forces float 112downwardly away from the extremity of line 107 to open line 107 to fluidflow, the float being urged by the difference in pressure toward spacedand aligned line 108. In accordance with one feature of the novelinvention, the extremity of aligned line 108 spaced and opposed to theextremity of line 107 is so shaped that float 112 can nest but not coverthe opening of this extremity. In the embodiment disclosed, theextremity of line 108 can be of triangular apex shape as at 113 with acounter groove 114 centrally disposed at apex 113 sized in breadth toreceive float 112 in nesting seated relation therewith but sized indepth to prevent the nesting, seated float 112 from covering the openingof line 108 so as to allow fluid to continue to pass therethrough fromopened, aligned and spaced line 107 and the chamber 111.

Referring to FIG. 26, housing 28 is disclosed with the front wallthereof, herein referred to as front wall 128, shown as being shaped toinclude a user tap recess 129 therein to receive the aforedescribed usertap 22 which can be any one of a number of commercially-availablespigots, such as the one disclosed and commercially available fromTomlinson Company. This user tap spigot 22 conveniently is designed toreceive and support a glass at a location below the spigot spout to pourfluid into the glass by applying a nominal hand pressure on thespigot-supported glass.

As can be seen in FIG. 27 of the drawings, the upper portion of thefront wall 128 of housing 28, which front wall extends the height of thehousing, is provided with a pair of generally U-shaped over-centerpivotal hinges 131. One leg extremity 132 of each hinge 131 (only onebeing shown) is shown as pivotally-mounted to the side wall of housing28 with the opposite leg extremity 133 being fastened to the upperportion of the curved side of front wall 128. With this arrangement, itis possible to quickly gain full access to plenum 29 of housing 28 toservice any one of the several aforedescribed novel parts of the liquidpurification system 2 disposed therein. Advantageously over-centerhinges 131 are so designed as to permit the front cover to be pivotedthrough approximately one hundred and thirty degrees (130°) to aposition above the top wall portion of housing 28. However, it is to beunderstood that the over-center hinges 131 can be designed to allowother pivotal situations, if so desired.

Referring to FIG. 28, mold structure for the unique formation of thelower portion of aforedescribed storage receptacle 19 is disclosed. Thisstructure includes a pair of mating upper and lower mold halves 134 and136 respectively which are internally contoured to provide the bottomwall of the lower portion of storage receptacle 19 and the peripheraland intermediate side walls extending from the bottom wall toappropriately define the aforedescribed fluid compartments 83 and 88 ofstorage receptacle 19 which receive the cold and hot storage bags 82 and87, respectively. To accomplish the unique method for forming storagereceptacle 19 the upper and lower mold halves 134 and 136 are closed inmating relation along opposite faces of aforedescribed plate member 34.A suitable plastic material, such as a closed cell foam polyurethanealong with an appropriate catalyst is then introduced under pressurefrom a storage source not shown through lower mold inlet 137.Advantageously, the foam polyurethane selected can have appropriatelyhigh heat resisting and insulating qualities which are required for thevarying temperatures realized in cold and hot storage compartments 83and 88 respectively. The foam polyurethane introduced into lower moldhalf 136 is in sufficient quantity and under sufficient pressure to passthrough the holes 99 and lineal slots 101 which are aligned withappropriately-designed recesses to provide the bottom or base wall andthe connected or integral peripheral side and intermediate walls ofstorage receptacle 19 as above described.

It is to be understood that not only is storage receptacle 19 formed bya novel method but, in addition, the method of forming and assemblingtreatment container 26 (FIGS. 11-16) and the method of forming andassembling the interconnected cold and hot storage bags 82 and 87 (FIG.21) respectively are novel. In forming treatment container 26, asaforedescribed, a longitudinally-extending compartment header block 59is formed from a suitable plastic material such as polycarbonate toinclude the aforedescribed fluid outlet and inlets and air connections61, 62 and 63 for each separate fluid compartment 57 and 58. The headerblock is shaped to include an upper peripheral recessed edge 77 and awave-like recess 78 extending centrally along the upper face of theblock between the opposed longitudinal sides thereof. Mirror-imageoutside panels 73 and 74 and a compartment dividing wave-likeintermediate panel 76 are mold formed with the panels being soconfigured and sized that the outside panels 73 and 74 provide arectangular-shaped chamber therebetween which subsequently is dividedinto two compartments 57 and 58 with the opposed side and bottom edgesof the two outside panels 73 and 74 and the intermediate panel 76 infacing relation with each other to be fuse joined in open-ended twocompartment relation. In formation, the open-ended edges of the outsidepanels 73 and 74 and the end portions of intermediate panel 76 arepositioned to surround and be sealed to the peripherally surroundingrecessed edge 77 of block 59 with the intermediate edge of wave-likeintermediate panel 76 nestingly engaging and being sealed to thewave-like recess 78 in header block 59.

In forming cold and hot storage bags 82 and 87, as aforedescribed, twosimilarly-shaped sheets 102 and 103 of fluid impervious material, suchas Mylar, are each sized, shaped and cut as identical plackets toprovide bag sides 82 and 87 with a side of a connecting portion 106therebetween. The plackets are then placed in mirror-image relation andsealed completely along the edges thereof as at 104 so as to providebags 82 and 87 joined by connecting passage 106 extending therebetween.

Referring to FIGS. 29-32, a novel fluid flow control mechanism 143 forflexible conduits 141 and 142 is disclosed which can be used in place ofsolenoid 21. These conduits 141 and 142 are used to alternately connectcold storage bag member 82 and hot storage bag member 87 respectivelyand which are located in storage receptacle 19 to user tap 22. Theseconduits 141 and 142 are advantageously made of a long-wearing, flexiblesilicone material inherently capable of emitting a microscopicallydetectable silicone lubricant when flexed. The conduits are of apreselected thickness in accordance with desired fluid flow capacityfrom the respective storage bag members 82 and 87 to which they areconnected and lead to a liquid outlet and user tap 22 through anappropriate Y-connection (not shown), each passing through the novelfluid flow control mechanism 143 which serves to deliver fluid from eachof said storage bag members 82 and 87 alternatively to user tap 22. Thisliquid control mechanism 143 is comprised of a pair of relativelyslidable, superposed plates 144 and 146 which can be mountedappropriately on one of the walls of walled housing 28 with a manualgripping handle 167 mounted on pin 151 projecting through the mountedwall to provide relative slidable movement between plates 144 and 146.Suitably spaced teflon washers 147 can be provided between plates 144and 146 to space the plates and to enhance relative slidable movementtherebetween. Base plate 144, which can be provided at diametricallyopposed corners with slots 148 to allow relative movement of this baseplate on the wall to which it is mounted, can be of elongatedrectangular shape of a preselected length. Superposed plate 146 can beof a shorter length than base plate 144 and can be of S-shape with awidth substantially equal to base plate 144. These plates 144 and 146can be made from a suitable light, sturdy, metallic material. A suitableelongated guide slot 149 is provided in base plate 144 midway betweenthe sides thereof with pin 151 having gripping handle 167 fastened onsuperposed plate 146 slidably projecting therein. Spaced, elongatedguide slots 153 and 154 are aligned with each other on superposed plate146 and with guide slot 149 on base plate 144. Pins 156 and 157 mountedon base plate 144 project through guide slots 153 and 154 on plate 146respectively to permit relative slidable movement therebetween. A pairof conduit receiving rings 158 and 159 a and pair of conduit receivingrings 161 and 162 are mounted in staggered positions on each plate 144and 146 with the rings on corresponding sides of relatively slidableplates 144 and 146 being aligned and so positioned that when the alignedrings 162 and 159 on corresponding sides of the two relatively slidableplates are proximate to each other, then the aligned rings 158 and 161on the other corresponding sides of the two relatively-slidable platesare remote from each other. These aligned rings are so sized that eachpair on corresponding sides has one of the two conduits 141 and 142passing therethrough. A pair of gripping sleeves 163 and 164, which canalso be of suitable silicone tubing material, are sized to snugly engagethe outer peripheries of conduits 141 and 142, and are fastened to theouter peripheries on opposite sides of each ring. Thus each conduit canbe properly gripped in a preselectively flexed minimum arc position tobe in open position and a preselectively flexed maximum arc position tobe in closed position with the open and closed position alternating foreach conduit as can be seen in FIGS. 29 and 30 and FIGS. 31 and 32. Thisserves to allow alternative flow of fluids from storage bag members 82and 87 in storage receptacle 19. It is to be noted that a suitablehelical spring 166 can be arranged to be fastened at one end thereof toactuating pin 151 which pin can be extended, as above described, and canbe arranged to project through a wall of the walled housing 28 with agripping handle 167 fastened thereto. The other end of spring 166 isfastened to pin 157 extending through slot 154 on the superposed plate146. This helical spring 166 serves to spring bias the relative movementbetween plates 144 and 146 so that when conduit 142, which in theembodiment illustrated is connected to hot storage bag member 87 isurged to fully open position as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, the urgingforce is against the resistance of the spring biasing means 166. In thisregard, it is to be noted that the spring-like effect in each of thesilicone conduits also serves to urge each conduit to its selecteddestined position. Although any one of a number of suitable flexiblematerials can be selected for flow-through conduits 141 and 142 besidessilicone, desirably the conduit material selected should havelong-lasting flexing qualities and be of appropriate thickness andcharacteristics to seal from the center of the axial line of fluid flowthrough the conduit to the inner peripheral sides thereof. It also is tobe noted that the selection of the flexed arc positions of each conduitneed not be from an alternative minimum arc, fully-open to a maximumarc, fully-closed position but that in other situations, it would bepossible to control the flow somewhere in between these two positions.

From the above description, it can be seen that a novel, light, compact,easy-to-ship, easy-to-store, fluid purification structure and method areprovided including numerous inventive features which permit economicmanufacture and operation, providing for a highly-efficient andeconomical system for fluid purification.

The invention claimed is:
 1. In a fluid liquid purification apparatushaving a reverse osmosis treatment system with a treatment header withspaced port connections therein for receiving treating fluid, a unitarydisinfection/rejuvenation fluid impervious treatment container having atleast one fluid impervious compartment for introduction of appropriatetreating fluids respectively therein the improvement comprising: acompartment header mounted in sealed relation at the end of saidcompartment, said compartment header having spaced mating portconnections adapted to mate with correspondingly spaced port connectionsin said treatment header in said reverse osmosis treatment system ofsaid liquid purification apparatus to permit connection of saidcompartment with said treatment system including means for cooperatingwith said liquid purification apparatus.
 2. The unitarydisinfection/rejuvenation container of claim 1, said treatment containerhaving a fluid impervious dividing wall to provide two fluid imperviouscompartments said port connections for each of said compartment headerscomprising one set of a pair of spaced sets of mirror-image spaced portconnection sets in said compartment headers to allow said compartmentsto be alternatively coupled to corresponding mating port connections insaid treatment header of said treatment system for alternativeintroduction of different fluids from each of the coupled compartments.3. The unitary disinfection/rejuvenation container of claim 1, and atie-down connection cooperative between said compartment headers andsaid treatment header on said liquid purification apparatus to tie-downand fasten that compartment header not in engaging relation with saidtreatment header.
 4. The unitary disinfection/rejuvenation container ofclaim 1, said container having a longitudinally extending rectangularconfiguration from said header end to said closed ends in said containerwith said dividing wall extending therebetween from diametricallyopposite corners of said container to provide said fluid imperviouscompartments, said compartments being of generally pyramid-like, stableconfiguration.
 5. The unitary disinfection/rejuvenation container ofclaim 1, said container being formed from three stable plastic panels offluid impervious material, two panels of which are identically sized andflanged along three edges thereof including opposed side and base edgesto be positioned in mirror-image facing relation to initially provide achamber in longitudinally extending rectangular configuration form toinclude an open mouth header end adjacent and fastened to said headerfor each compartment and a spaced opposed closed end with said thirdpanel being sized to serve as a divider wall therebetween said dividerwall panel being in the form of a longitudinally-extending wave-shapeddivider sheet to extend longitudinally between said mirror-imagepositioned first and second panels from said open mouth compartmentheader inlet end to said closed end and from diametrically opposedcorners of said longitudinally extending chamber of rectangularconfiguration formed by said first and second mirror-image positionedpanels with the longitudinally-extending opposed side and base edges ofsaid first, second and third panels extending from said header to saidopposite closed end having a common seam along said opposed side andbase edges thereon and with the edges of all three panels adjacent saidcompartment headers being sealed thereto to provide a pair ofmirror-image nesting adjacent compartments of stable, triangularconfiguration extending inwardly from said header ends to said closedends.
 6. A method comprising: forming a molded compartmental storagereceptacle including means for cooperating with a liquid purificationapparatus, by, molding two storage receptacle side members sized andgeometrically shaped to face each other to define an open mouthreceptacle of preselected geometric configuration; and joining togethersaid side edges and base edges of said mirror-image side members andsaid divider member along a continuous seam to provide a moldedcompartmental storage receptacle.
 7. The method of forming the storagereceptacle of claim 6, molding at least one divider member sized andgeometrically proportioned to correspond with said side members so as tobe assembled in partially spaced relation therebetween to provideadjacent compartments; and molding a header for said molded storagereceptacle with compartmental connections disposed therein positioned tobe in alignment with each of said adjacent compartments in said moldedstorage receptacle; and joining those open-mouthed edges opposite saidjoined base edges of said molded storage receptacle to said moldedheader.
 8. The method of forming the storage receptacle of claim 7, saidcompartmental connections for each of said compartments in said storagereceptacle being positioned in mirror-image relation to allowalternative connection of each compartment with the same connectingtreatment header.
 9. The method of forming the storage receptacle ofclaim 7, said molded header being molded to have peripheral recessesalong the periphery thereof and intermediate the side edges thereof toreceive said open-mouthed edges and to be joined thereto by fusion. 10.The method of forming the storage receptacle of claim 7, said moldedside members, divider member and header being of fluid imperviouspolycarbonate material.
 11. A method comprising: forming a moldedfluid-impervious compartmental storage receptacle including means forcooperating with a liquid purification apparatus, by, molding twostorage receptacle side members and a wave-shaped divider member offluid-impervious polycarbonate material; said side members andwave-shaped divider member being sized and geometrically shaped andproportioned that when said side members are placed in mirror-imagerelation with said divider member in partial spaced relationtherebetween two triangular-like mirror-image separate fluid-impervious,open-mouthed compartment members are formed; positioning said sidemembers and divider member accordingly in such relationship and fusingsaid side and base edges together to form said triangular-likecompartments; forming a header of solid polycarbonate material with setsof mirror-image fluid connections embedded therein positioned tocommunicate with each of said triangular-like compartments andalternatively with connections in a treatment header, said header beingformed with a peripheral-surrounding recess and a wave-shaped recessextending between opposed sides thereof to receive the open-mouthededges of said compartments; and, fusing said edges in said headerrecesses to said header.